The Primacy of Politics

2006-08-07 Political Science

Author : Sheri Berman
Release : 2006-08-07
Genre : Political Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 594/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis The Primacy of Politics by : Sheri Berman

Download or read book The Primacy of Politics written by Sheri Berman. This book was released on 2006-08-07. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Political history in the industrial world has indeed ended, argues this pioneering study, but the winner has been social democracy - an ideology and political movement that has been as influential as it has been misunderstood. Berman looks at the history of social democracy from its origins in the late nineteenth century to today and shows how it beat out competitors such as classical liberalism, orthodox Marxism, and its cousins, Fascism and National Socialism by solving the central challenge of modern politics - reconciling the competing needs of capitalism and democracy. Bursting on to the scene in the interwar years, the social democratic model spread across Europe after the Second World War and formed the basis of the postwar settlement. This is a study of European social democracy that rewrites the intellectual and political history of the modern era while putting contemporary debates about globalization in their proper intellectual and historical context.

The Primacy of the Political

2010 History

Author : Dick Howard
Release : 2010
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 955/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis The Primacy of the Political by : Dick Howard

Download or read book The Primacy of the Political written by Dick Howard. This book was released on 2010. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The conflict between politics and antipolitics has replayed itself throughout Western history and philosophical thought. Plato's quest for absolute certainty led him to denounce political democracy, an anti-political position later challenged by Aristotle. This back-and-forth exchange came to a head at the time of the American and French revolutions. Through this wide-ranging narrative, Dick Howard throws new light on a recurring philosophical dilemma, proving our political problems are not as unique as we think. Howard begins with democracy in ancient Greece and the rise and fall of republican politics in Rome. In the wake of Rome's collapse, political thought searched for a new medium, and the conflict between politics and antipolitics reemerged through the contrasting theories of Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas. During the Renaissance and the Reformation, the emergence of the modern individual again shifted the terrain. Even so, politics vs. antipolitics dominated the period, frustrating even Machiavelli, who sought to reconceptualize the nature of political thought. Hobbes and Locke, theorists of the social contract, then reenacted the conflict, which Rousseau sought (in vain) to overcome. Adam Smith and the growth of modern economic liberalism, the radicalism of the French revolution, and the conservative reaction of Edmund Burke subsequently marked the triumph of antipolitics, and the American Revolution may have offered the potential groundwork for a renewal of politics. Taken together, these historical examples, viewed through the prism of philosophy, reveal the roots of today's political climate and suggest the trajectory of the battles yet to come

War and the Engineers

2018-09-05 Political Science

Author : Keir A. Lieber
Release : 2018-09-05
Genre : Political Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 460/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis War and the Engineers by : Keir A. Lieber

Download or read book War and the Engineers written by Keir A. Lieber. This book was released on 2018-09-05. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do some technologies provoke war? Do others promote peace? Offense-defense theory contends that technological change is an important cause of conflict: leaders will be tempted to launch wars when they believe innovation favors attackers over defenders. Offense-defense theory is perhaps best known from the passionate and intricate debates about first-strike capability and deterrence stability during the cold war, but it has deeper historical roots, remains a staple in international relations theorizing, and drives modern arms control policymaking. In War and the Engineers, the first book systematically to test the logical and empirical validity of offense-defense theory, Keir A. Lieber examines the relationships among politics, technology, and the causes of war. Lieber's cases explore the military and political implications of the spread of railroads, the emergence of rifled small arms and artillery, the introduction of battle tanks, and the nuclear revolution. Lieber incorporates the new historiography of World War I, which draws on archival materials that only recently became available, to challenge many common beliefs about the conflict. The author's central conclusion is that technology is neither a cause of international conflict nor a panacea; instead, power politics remains paramount.

Institution Building in Weak States

2020-07-01 Political Science

Author : Andrew Radin
Release : 2020-07-01
Genre : Political Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 958/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis Institution Building in Weak States by : Andrew Radin

Download or read book Institution Building in Weak States written by Andrew Radin. This book was released on 2020-07-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The effort to improve state institutions in post-conflict societies is a complicated business. Even when foreign intervention is carried out with the best of intentions and the greatest resources, it often fails. What can account for this failure? In Institution Building in Weak States, Andrew Radin argues that the international community’s approach to building state institutions needs its own reform. This innovative book proposes a new strategy, rooted in a rigorous analysis of recent missions. In contrast to the common strategy of foreign interveners—imposing models drawn from Western countries—Radin shows how pursuing incremental change that accommodates local political interests is more likely to produce effective, accountable, and law-abiding institutions. Drawing on extensive field research and original interviews, Radin examines efforts to reform the central government, military, and police in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Iraq, and Timor-Leste. Based on his own experience in defense reform in Ukraine after 2014, Radin also draws parallels with efforts to improve state institutions outside of post-conflict societies. Institution Building in Weak States introduces a domestic opposition theory that better explains why institution building fails and what is required to make it work. With actionable recommendations for smarter policy, the book offers an important corrective for scholars and practitioners of post-conflict missions, international development, peacebuilding, and security cooperation.

Popular eBooks

The Primacy of Politics

The Primacy of the Political

War and the Engineers

Institution Building in Weak States

You may also like...